A BLACKBURN man ran at a mini-bus carrying Bolton supporters home after the match at Ewood Park and put his fist through a window.

Blackburn magistrates heard one of the Bolton fans, who suffered a cut nose as a result of flying glass, got off the bus to detain the attacker and after having a punch thrown at him knocked the other man to the floor with a single blow.

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And a second passenger who followed him off kicked the Blackburn man as he was on the floor.

Ben Nicholson, 25, of Thornham Drive, Bolton, and Gareth Longworth, 28, of Pemberton Street, Bolton, pleaded guilty to using threatening behaviour. Nicholson was ordered to do 80 hours unpaid work and Longworth made subject to a curfew for eight weeks between 8pm and 6 am.

District Judge James Clarke made a football banning order for three years against Longworth who was the second man off the coach but did not make an order against Nicholson who had suffered the cut nose.

Differentiating between the two he said Longworth had a previous caution for being drunk at a football match and he had admitted having drunk 10 or 11 pints of cider on the night of the incident.

“You kicked someone on the floor who was offering no threat to you or anyone else,” said District Judge Clarke. “I question your ability to react correctly in a similar situation.”

He said, having been injured by flying glass, when Nicholson got off the coach he reacted instinctively when a punch was thrown at him by the man who put his fist through the window.

“You have no previous convictions and I am not satisfied a ban is necessary in your case,” said District Judge Clarke.

Catherine Allan, prosecuting, said the man who had punched the window, David Metcalf, is due to be sentenced for a similar offence and a banning order would be sought against him as well.

Estelle Parkhouse, defending, said if it hadn’t been for the actions of David Metcalf there would not have been any problems.

She said Nicholson was angry after being cut by flying glass and when he got off the bus Metcalf threw the first punch.

“When my client hit him it was not because of football rivalry but because he had been cut and then attacked,” said Miss Parkhouse.

She said Longworth had followed his friend off the coach out of “misguided loyalty.”

Arguing against the banning orders, Miss Parkhouse said it wasn’t the football match which lead to the ‘unpleasant behaviour’ but the actions of Metcalf.